Jan. 23, 2010
FAIRFAX, Va. -- The Old Dominion men's swimming and diving team swept the competition at the annual quad meet on Saturday, while the ODU women's swimmer and divers won two of three.
The Monarchs defeated American, (215-77), Army (151.5-146.5), and Colonial Athletic Association (CAA) rival George Mason (153-145) to improve to 7-1 overall.
The Lady Monarchs, meanwhile, picked up wins over American (197-102) and Army (194-106), but fell to George Mason (168-131) and are now 5-5 on the year.
On the men's side, ODU earned seven first place finishes - six individual and one relay. Leading the way once again for the Monarchs was Arni Arnason with four top times on the day in the 100 and 200 breast, as well as the 50 free and as a member of the 200 medley relay team.
Things kicked off with the 200 medley relay squad taking first place. The team consisting of Mikael Ramkvist (Bjarred, Sweden), Arni Arnason (Msfellsbaer, Iceland), Johan Lundberg (Fjaras, Sweden), and Ryan Peart (Fort Washington, Pa.) swam their way to a time of 1:34.29 in the win.
Individually, Arnason continued with wins in the 100 and 200 breast and the 50 free. Arnason clocked in at 21.00 in the 50 free, recorded a time of 56.34 in the 100 breast, and finished with a top time of 2:04.65 in the 200 breast. Teammate Josh Kinas (Reston, Va.) took third in the 200 breast logging a time of 2:07.50.
The Ramkvist brothers also had impressive performances in the 200 back. Mikael Ramkvist swam to a first place finish (1.52.25), while Kristian Ramkvist placed second (1:53.54) for the ninth fastest time in the ODU record books.
Chad Gangwer (Va. Beach, Va.) rounded out the Monarch victories in the quad meet. Gangwer hit the wall in a time of 1:43.50 in the 200 free. He later took second in the 100 free with a time of 47.31.
Other notable performances by the Monarchs included a pair of second place finishes by Jason Brame (Lynchburg, Va.) in the distance events and Mikael Ramkvist and Kevin Latimer (Newport News, Va.) with second place times as well. In the 1650 free, Brame captured a time of 16.21.32, while inthe 500 free saw the rookie post a time of 4:42.07. Ramkvist, who swam to a first place time in the 200 back, took second in the 100 back, a mere .12 seconds behind Amercian's Matt Pelletier. Latimer took second in the 200 fly, recording a time of 1:55.78.
In diving action, ODU was led by David Skorupa (Richmond, Va.) on the 1 meter scoring a 269.85 to place third.
For the Lady Monarchs, they recorded six first place times led once again by junior April Barrientos (Va. Beach, Va.) in the backstroke.
Barrientos' first victory of the afternoon came in the 100 back, in the same pool where she captured the CAA championship twice in the event. She swam to a time of 56.59 as the only competitor to clock in under minute. Teammate Maddie Stiles (Fairfax, Va.) finished in third in the 100 back with a time of 1:01.78. Barrientos later claimed the top spot in the 200 back by hitting the wall in a time of 2:06.24.
Kelli North (Newport News, Va.) posted a win in the 1650 free taking a top time of 18:03.18.
In another distance freestyle event, newcomer Danille Naylor placed first in the 500 free with a time of 5:02.49.
The ODU women also picked up a pair of victories in the butterfly. In the 100 fly, senior Agata Nowak (Gorzow, Poland) claimed the top time recording a time of 57.87. Jessica Hubert (Newport News, Va.), meanwhile, finished first in the 200 fly. Her time of 2:07.03 put her name in the record books with the sixth fastest time in ODU history. Naylor placed third in the event, behind Hubert, clocking in at 2:07.70.
Other notable performances by the Lady Monarchs included three second place finishes by Erla Haraldsdottir (Njardvik, Iceland). Haraldsdottir took second in the 200 breast (1:05.65), 200 breast (2:20.20), and 400 IM (4:35.97). Lauren Fiskus (Yorktown, Va.) placed third in the 200 breast behind Haraldsdottir with a time of 2:23.99.
The Old Dominion men's and women's swimming and diving teams return to the water when they travel to the Navy International on January 30th.